


Best birthday ever

by runningfromrealitytoanime



Series: The Adventures of the Shiratorizawa gang [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Birthday, Happy Ending, Shiratorizawa Fan Week 2020, Shiratorizawa Week, day 2 prompt : cooking together, tendou has a sad past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25001425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runningfromrealitytoanime/pseuds/runningfromrealitytoanime
Summary: At age six, Tendou was stood up at his very own birthday party.13 years later, his fellow Shiratorizawa teammates are preparing him the best birthday party ever (according to them that is).
Relationships: Shiratorizawa Academy Volleyball Club/Tendou Satori
Series: The Adventures of the Shiratorizawa gang [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1734379
Comments: 11
Kudos: 87
Collections: Shiratorizawa Fanweek 2020





	Best birthday ever

**Author's Note:**

> I'm partial about birthday parties with how well theycan go as well as how bad. Don't exactly have the best birthday party memories (kinda got stood up at my own when the food arrived two hours late and the guests abandoned me for a horror film, assholes). I dunno, I thought of Tendou having gone through something like this so tada!
> 
> Day 2 of Shiratorizawa Fan Week 2020 : Cooking together.

Having all of the Shiratorizawa’s starting line up crammed in their tiny apartment in Tokyo didn’t seem like a bad idea when Semi decided to sneak them over for a little surprise. The former setter had wanted to surprise his best friend, now turned roommate with a birthday party and since he didn’t know jackshit on anything about cooking, he had enlisted the help of his fellow men to plan the best birthday meal ever for Tendou.

Turns out the only ones capable of cooking were Ushijima, who was frying omurice on the stove like a master chef while Reon was trying his best to duck from flying onigiri that was supposed to be made and put on a plate instead of being used as snowballs to chuck at people’s heads. Semi sighed as Reon narrowly avoided getting knocked in the face with one, instead opening his mouth to catch it and swallow it with a couple of bites and swallows as Goshiki squawked, “Hey, that’s mine!”

“Finders keepers. And aren’t you supposed to be making onigiri and not throwing stuff at Yamagata/s face?” Reon asked, patient as ever as Yamagata scowled, “It's been a while since I had a food fight with the brat! Let me live a little!”

“Wasting food isn’t something to be taken lightly. Think of the children starving out there in the world. We are fortunate to be in Japan where everything is plentiful and peaceful,” Ushijima called from his position. The spiker had managed to squeeze in some time despite being in the process of training for the Olympics since it was for his best friend. The man in question was wearing an apron with pink frills around the edges, making him look like the perfect housewife. Semi had to stop himself from dropping a pair of Minnie mouse ears Tendou had got back when they went to Disney land on their former ace’s head.

“Shirabu, please tell me the salad is ready,” Semi groaned as Shirbau shrugged, the new captain of the men’s team holding onto what was supposed to be a tomato. As agile and precise as he was on the court, he could barely chop up anything without shredding it to pieces, evidence of his work littering the polished countertop. Semi sighs as he swoops in to save what was left of the tomatoes, Shirabu just giving him a scowl as Semi wished he could knock his kohai over the head.

“Are you sure Tendou would like this?” Kawanishi asked from his perch on the couch where he was busy blowing up some balloons, his face already red from puffing too much air. several balloons littered the ground along with some helium ones that screamed “Happy birthday!” and the numbers “19” on one of them bouncing on top of the ceiling.

“Sure he would. He always loves a good party. He’s been clubbing a lot ever since we got to the city,” Semi shrugged as he thought of the number of times he had to dragged a drunk Tendou back home. Semi himself wasn’t a fan of drinking, making sure that the party would be kid-friendly with the several minors that remained in their midst. Goshiki had been all up for having alcohol until Yamagata made sure to lock up every single bottle of alcohol in the house in the cabinet.

“We cook from the heart. He will love it,” Ushijima rumbled as Semi gave the ace a friendly slap to the back, “Come on Wakatoshi! Tendou will love this!”

“Come to think of it, Satori never did tell us much about his birthdays. We always did have a birthday meal during his birthday but not even once did he mention anything about how his birthdays had been like,” Reon pointed out as Semi sighed. He knew his friend didn’t have the best childhood (he still wanted to murder the little critters for even calling him a monster) and didn’t press him much about it. Tendou may be all laughs and smiles but deep down, the boy was nursing a heartbroken by the cruel world around them.

Goshiki let out a yelp when he realised he and Yamagata had finished throwing out all of the rice for the onigiri as well have more ingredients spattered on the ground than having been made into onigiri. Yamagata himself had several strings of crabstick hanging off his hair while Shirabu scowled at the salad as though it had done him injustice. Kawanishi had promptly passed out from the lack of air from blowing the balloons, Semi yelling for Yamagata to go resuscitate him before letting out a sigh.

Hopefully, they would even be able to make a decent dinner fit for a birthday boy.

…

Tendou never did want to remember his childhood but it was always around this time of year did the harsh memories of his past come back to haunt him.

Why did everyone have to treat him because he looked different?

His mother had told him his red hair was beautiful, like the sun shining from the sky above him. She said he would always be a beacon of hope for others, a special someone in the world that needed special people like himself.

What it had done instead was drove a wedge between him and other kids.

_Tendou sat at the head of the table table, a huge grin on his face as he bounced on his seat. He wore a shirt with the jinchuriki seal from Naruto as well as shorts, swinging his legs as the birthday hat clung onto the top of his red hair. He hummed a little song to himself as he tried to distract himself from looking at the food in front of him, the feast of fried chicken and omurice making his stomach growl. The onigiri his mother had made smelled heavenly, his eyes growing so wide as he checked the clock._

_Just a little more and he would get to eat!_

_“Don’t go eating anything just yet Satori,” his mother beamed as her son bounced up and ran to give her a hug. This was the very first time he ever had a birthday party and he was so excited about it. he had seen various parties across his life and in his neighbourhood, the kids often whacking a pinata and making sweet stumble onto the earth in a splash of colour or the smell of barbecue filling the air. Once Tendou had seen the kids gathered around a large cake in the shape of Ultraman, the birthday boy blowing out the candles as people sang the birthday song to him._

_Not once had he been invited to a birthday party._

_His whole house now screamed of Naruto with the decorations resembling that of the leaf village and even balloons in the shape of the characters bouncing against the ceiling. Tendou had even managed to get a cake with all of Team Seven on it, Kakashi smiling at him while patting onto Sasuke and Naruto’s shoulders as the boys scowled. Oh, how he wished he could have a team like them._

_“Hm, the first person should be arriving soon. Why don’t you go and greet them?” his mother asked as Tendou nodded, scrambling off his seat to head to the front door. He stood in the genkan, humming to himself as he rocked on his heels, patiently waiting for the first person to arrive. He had made sure to invite everyone in his class, even giving them proper invitations._

_Time ticked by and no one came. Mrs Tendou tried to reassure her son that his classmates might have been running late but deep down, little Tendou knew the truth._

_No one would want to come to the birthday party of a monster._

_Tendou sat in front of his Naruto cake, the tears threatening to fall as he sang the birthday song to himself quietly. His mother was standing in the kitchen, not knowing what to say to her son as the little boy lighted the candles on his own, watching the flames flicker before his eyes as he whispered._

_“Happy birthday to me.”_

The wide smile on his face seemed to make his classmates back away as he handed them the invitations. The boy was too happy to notice what was going on as he passed them out, telling them all what he had planned for his party despite some of the boys throwing him some weird looks. Tendou didn’t care if they didn’t like Naruto; as long as they came and had fun!

_“Happy birthday to me.”_

“I did it! I gave them all out! I’m so excited!” Tendou chirped as he leapt into his mother’s arms, the woman smiling as she patted her son on the head. The boy had begged her for a party for so long, although the main reason she had put it off was that she was afraid of how the others might treat her son. She had always known he was a bit different but that never stopped her from loving him.

_“Happy birthday, dear Satori.”_

“Mum, can I have a Naruto cake? Pretty please?” Tendou chirped as he bounced on his mother’s lap as she tried to watch TV. She nodded as Tendou gave a whoop, moving to bounce on the couch and asking her to flip the channel to Animax as she ran her fingers through his hair.

_“Happy birthday… to… me…”_

_Mrs Tendou tried to hold back her sobs as she saw her son crying at the table, his tears falling onto the ground as the candles remained lighted. The small boy rocked in his seat as he slowly turned to look at his mother, her eyes shining with tears as her son whispered the words that broke her heart._

_“Mummy, am I a monster?”_

_The only thing Mrs Tendou could do was to hug her son and comfort him on the most important day in his life. She promised to take him out to the theme park the next day, which Tendou merely shook his head to and headed upstairs, leaving her to stare at the feast she had made for the kids who had abandoned her son._

_The next day, she transferred him out to a different school and let him join the local volleyball club._

_If people thought he was a monster, maybe it was best for him to shine somewhere that monster roamed at their best._

Tendou hadn’t realised he had finally returned to his apartment, the sounds of people bickering and stuff dropping onto the ground filling the air as he heard a familiar squawk.

“Shut up you idiots! Tendou will be back soon!” Semi hissed as Goshiki spoke up, “Come on, Semi-senpai! Just a bit more!”

“As if you can make anything better, you freaking idiot. You already wasted two pots of rice!” Shirabu snapped as Tendou felt his lip wobble. No… he couldn’t be hearing his juniors… they were all the way back in Miyagi and why on earth would they come here on a day like this when they had class?

He slowly turned the doorknob, announcing his arrival when he saw that all the lights were turned off. There was a squeak and the sound of someone stepping on another person’s foot (most probably Shirabu trying to shut Goshiki up, Tendou thought lovingly), followed by the lights being turned on all of a sudden and the sound of poppers exploding as the former Shriatorizawa team beamed at him before shouting.

“Happy birthday, Tendou!” they yelled as streamers settled into Tendou’s hair. The boy stood speechless as his kohai hustled him out of his shoes and into the house, yammering about how much they had managed to cook and how he was going to love it. Tendou’s mind was blank as he was shuffled into the kitchen, his eyes landing on the feast groaning on the table as Ushijima nodded to the seat at the head of the table.

“Birthday boy sits here,” he said, a small smile playing on his lips as Semi laughed, “What? Cat got your tongue? We’ve finally managed to get a place of our own so I thought it would be nice to celebrate.”

“Anyway, on to the main event! Birthday cake coming through!” Yamagata yelled as Reon plucked the strings of his guitar in the background, the former wing spiker grinning as the boys began to sing.

“Happy birthday to you.”

_Tendou sitting at the head of the dining table on his own, the candles slowly melting onto the cake as he sobbed. The food grew cold as time went past, his excitement melting into sorrow and sadness as he finally let himself cry._

“Happy birthday to you.”

_Tendou stood on the court for the first time, his coach finally letting him play on the court. His rad blocks were on spot but that didn’t stop his teammates from staring at him like a monster as he shrugged. He thought he could get used to it by now but nope, he still felt as though he wanted to belong somewhere, anywhere even._

_A looming shadow appeared before his eyes as Tendou looked up, wanting to snap back at whoever was going to call him a monster when he saw the ace of Shiratorizawa Middle glowering at him. he had just slammed his team down with serve after serve, Tendou barely able to stop his attacks from pummelling his team to the ground._

_“We could use someone like you. Come to Shiratorizawa. I will make sure you belong on the team.”_

“Happy birthday, dear Tendou.”

_Tendou stood on the court with his new teammates, the number 5 flashing on his back as he smirked. The rest of the team stood in a line, Washijou giving them a final pep talk before they headed off to nationals. Damn, Tendou would have never thought he would have so much fun on the court, let alone go to nationals twice a year. Ushijima had been right in getting him to join the team and Tendou had never looked back ever since then._

“Happy birthday to you.”

_The sound of his name being cheered from the stands made Tendou grin like a madman. He raised his fingers to the air and pointed to the crowd, some girls squealing his name as he grinned at them. a hand came to clap him on the back, Reon giving him a grin as Semi flung himself onto him, nearly strangling him from the back._

_“Dude, that was a good block dammit! I can’t believe you managed to block that!” Semi yelled as he ruffled Tendou’s hair. The redhead could barely contain his smile as he turned to see Ushijima standing a bit away from them, a small smile on his face as Tendou felt his heart sing._

_He didn’t need his ace to open his mouth to know he was proud of him._

“Eh, Tendou-senpai?! Why are you crying?!” Goshiki shrieked as Tendou stared at the table dumbfounded. He hadn’t even realised he had begun to cry as he wiped away the tears with his hand, more flowing out as he snickered, “Aw shucks. I didn’t expect anyone to even want to have a birthday party with little old me.”

“Heck who wouldn’t? You’re the coolest dude ever man! Of course, we had to cook something for you!” Yamagata grinned as Reon sighed, “You mean had a food fight with.”

“Hey!” Yamagata groaned as Tendou let out a laugh. Oh man, he would never forget the scene before his eyes of his juniors bickering with each other and the sight of his fellow graduates sitting around him. Semi had a soft smile on his face as Ushijima nodded, Tendou sniffling as he looked at the cake they had got for him.

It was the exact same one as his 6th birthday party.

“Come on now! let’s eat!” Goshiki yelled as Shirabu snatched him by the collar to hold him back, “Wait a minute! Tendou hasn’t even blown the candles out yet!”

Tendou watches as the flames flicker before his eyes the same way it had 13 years ago.

13 years ago he had watched the candles melt before his eyes, the food growing cold before him as empty seats sung the birthday song to him.

Now, the very same scene in front of him at him, only this time, he sat with his best friends and teammates.

Tendou had never felt so blessed his entire life.

Tendou slowly blew out the candles as the boys applauded, moving to wipe away a tear as Goshiki and Yamagata dove in to attack the food.

“So, what did you wish for?” Semi asked as Tendou gave him a tiny smile, “I didn’t.”

Since he already has the friends he had always wanted his entire life.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this! Hope you guys didn't mind the sad bit about Tendou's past!
> 
> Come yell at me on Tumblr or Twitter @runningfromrealitytoanime!
> 
> All comments and kudos are greatly appreciated and welcomed!! They really make my day!


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